Friday, April 11, 2008

Bp. Vasa: Battling the Devil

Bp. Vasa has a reflection on battling evil in his weekly column which is very insightful.

The drive, which by the way is not by far my favorite drive, gave me an opportunity to listen to several more hours of presentations on Deliverance or Healing Ministry. I found the theological presentations to be extremely well balanced and carefully worded. I found the tone of the questions to be genuinely and openly inquisitive. It was, or so it appeared to me, a gathering of folks devoted to combating evil and yet extremely cognizant of the need to do so, not in opposition to the Church, but rather in full cooperation with Her. There appeared to be only a very slight hint of tension when a distinction was drawn between what the laity had been doing in the area of Deliverance Ministry and what the official “Church” had apparently not been doing. It was noted that there were only four bishops at the Conference and, while attendees found this most encouraging, the small number seemed to be indicative of the reluctance, on the part of the official “Church,” to give a full stamp of approval to all that has been taking place. I think the Conference, which was largely educative in nature, very successfully brought a solid theological foundation to the deliverance experiences of priests and laity. At the same time the deliverance experiences of the priests and laity were given significant validation.

The Church officials, who spoke from both a theological and experiential base, were very effective in pointing out the spiritual dangers inherent in engaging in a deliverance ministry without adequate preparation, training and most especially official approbation by the Church. These theologians spoke about the devil with a bit of deference but without fear. In general, the theme was that we do not want to engage the devil in direct battle without the full faith and credit of the Catholic Church behind us. The distinction between what every baptized person can and should do and what the Church does officially is very important. For instance, it is perfectly legitimate and encouraged for everyone to pray for a deliverance from evil. We do this daily in the Lord’s Prayer: “Deliver us from evil. Amen” We do the same when we say that powerful Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel: “St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host - by the Power of God - thrust into Hell, Satan and all the other evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.” Notice that both of these involve an invocation either to God directly or to the Archangel to intervene on our behalf. This is significantly different from the kind of declaration which implies that the person speaking is the chosen or appointed instrument of God. For example: “I adjure you by the living God to depart from this place or person and never return” or “I bind you in the Name of Jesus” or “I command you in the Name of Jesus.” The Conference presenters spoke repeatedly about the need to be very careful in the use of language. If the person using the language of direct deliverance has not, in fact, been appointed in an official act of the Church then the “appointment” is either presumed to have come directly from God (which then implicitly calls into question the nature of the authority given to the Church) or the person is ‘self appointed” or “self anointed” which can be nothing other than the prelude to anarchy.

In addition to the theological discussions there were also very challenging spiritual presentations. One, in particular, captured my attention. The presenter delved into the topic of addictions and “sins of thought.” She specifically mentioned the harboring of angry, jealous, envious, or resentful thoughts. In this regard I thought again of Pope Benedict’s Encyclical. He quotes the Vietnamese martyr Paul Le-Bao-Tinh (d. 1857): “I, Paul, in chains for the name of Christ, wish to relate to you the trials besetting me daily, in order that you may be inflamed with love for God and join with me in his praises, for his mercy is for ever (Ps 136). The prison here is a true image of everlasting Hell: to cruel tortures of every kind - shackles, iron chains, manacles - are added hatred, vengeance, calumnies, obscene speech, quarrels, evil acts, swearing, curses, as well as anguish and grief. But the God who once freed the three children from the fiery furnace is with me always; he has delivered me from these tribulations and made them sweet, for his mercy is for ever. In the midst of these torments, which usually terrify others, I am, by the grace of God, full of joy and gladness, because I am not alone - Christ is with me.” (Spe Salvi, 37) He certainly had reason to complain, to impugn his captors, to deride them and criticize them but he seemed to know that those things would be from the devil and he chose to listen to God instead. I think he has a lot to teach us.

Isn't it wonderful to listen to a shepherd teaching? I just love it. It gives the grace of reassurance and peace to the sheep. I think Bp Vasa must be a mighty man from all I read about him. His flock is very lucky.

In the Spirit of Vatican II...

We are a diverse community, united in the tradition of St. Dominic, joyfully obedient to the Word of God spoken in His Catholic Church. We accept willingly in faith the defined teachings of the Church's ordinary and universal magisterium. We acknowledge also our duty to adhere with religious assent to those teachings which are authoritatively, even if not infallibly, proposed by the Church [Lumen Gentium, 25]

Next Retreat

Our next retreat will be the 12th annual Mary Magdalene retreat at Homedale Chapter House. Although planning has not been finalized, save the retreat dates: Friday and Saturday, Jul 15-17, 2016. There will be presentations, Masses, Adoration, and good company. Fr Vincent Kelber OP, Pastor of Holy Rosary Parish, Portland, will be our Retreat Master.

Contributors

FIGHT FOCA!

Sophia

Lumen Dominicanus

Dear Holy Father Dominic,

Hear our prayer and take it to our Father in heaven. We ask for your protection for the Order of Preachers and most especially the chapter of Blessed Margaret of Castello; that we be right minded with Holy Mother the Church and that we have the courage to live and preach your word. Amen.

Social Justice

It makes no sense that we grant the use of unrestricted lethal force to a citizen with no judicial oversight, and simultaneously claim that the state has no right to the use of restricted lethal force with full judicial oversight.

"Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It's wholly inadequate to the government of any other."- John Adams, 2nd US president, Oct 11, 1798

The child, who does not think about so serious a thing as health, dreams of meals that are made up of desserts. Men and women, who do not think about so serious a thing as living, dream of a life that consists only of sweetness, soft music and rest to the echo of applause and gently sympathetic understanding. But meals are never like that; neither is life. In the same vein, our modern men and women dream of God as a being of whom no one could ever be afraid, a gentle, stupid god who would allow men and women to ruin themselves and then admire them for the work they had done in destroying his masterpiece. You see they never really think about God, for God is not like that.

Cdl Arinze speaks:

Why make the people of God suffer so much? Haven't we enough problems already? Only Sunday, one hour, they come to adore God. And you bring a dance! Are you so poor you have nothing else to bring us? Shame on you! That's how I feel about it.
If people want to dance, they know where to go.

A Modern Lexicon

Liturgeist - What you get when the poltergeist of Vatican II possesses a "Liturgist"

Ad Oscillating - When a Priest in fan-shaped church turns like a lawn sprinkler to make eye contact with everyone.

Stolecism - The practice, always and everwhere to be reprehended, of wearing a stold over a chasuble, instead of the other way around.

Hyperstolecism- The practice of not only wearing the stole over the chasuble, but wearing the wrong-colored stole in an attempt to be cute (e.g., a green stole over a purple chasuble for St. Patrick's Day).

Crusurpation- When a lay extraordinary minister of Holy Communion attempts to bestow a priestly blessing upon a child or a non-Catholic during Communion.

Shambulation- The priestly practice of strutting around the sanctuary during the homily, instead of delivering the homily from the pulpit.

New Cosmetology- Usually abreviated "New Cosmology," an alternate reality where the universe of make-up and hair styling destroys habits and obedience.

Ad-liburgy- The priestly practice of making up rubrics on the fly.

Gagnificent- bad contemporary art used wherever sacred art should be (think of the Los Angeles Cathedral).

This list will grow if you send me your recommendations

Thomas explains

I answer that, Neither living nor lifeless faith remains in a heretic who disbelieves one article of faith.

The reason of this is that the species of every habit depends on the formal aspect of the object, without which the species of the habit cannot remain. Now the formal object of faith is the First Truth, as manifested in Holy Writ and the teaching of the Church, which proceeds from the First Truth. Consequently whoever does not adhere, as to an infallible and Divine rule, to the teaching of the Church, which proceeds from the First Truth manifested in Holy Writ, has not the habit of faith, but holds that which is of faith otherwise than by faith. Even so, it is evident that a man whose mind holds a conclusion without knowing how it is proved, has not scientific knowledge, but merely an opinion about it. Now it is manifest that he who adheres to the teaching of the Church, as to an infallible rule, assents to whatever the Church teaches; otherwise, if, of the things taught by the Church, he holds what he chooses to hold, and rejects what he chooses to reject, he no longer adheres to the teaching of the Church as to an infallible rule, but to his own will. Hence it is evident that a heretic who obstinately disbelieves one article of faith, is not prepared to follow the teaching of the Church in all things; but if he is not obstinate, he is no longer in heresy but only in error. Therefore it is clear that such a heretic with regard to one article has no faith in the other articles, but only a kind of opinion in accordance with his own will. (Summa, IIa IIae Q5 a3)

Hillaire Belloc in his commentary on Modernism as a heresy states: "[t]here is no such thing as a religion called "Christianity" - there never has been such a religion". "There is and always has been the Church, and various heresies proceeding from a rejection of some of the Church's doctrines by men who still desire to retain the rest of her teaching and morals. But there never has been and never can be or will be a general Christian religion professed by men who all accept some central important doctrines, while agreeing to differ about others. There has always been from the beginning and will always be the Church, and sundry heresies either doomed to decay, or, like Mohammedanism, to grow into a separate religion. Of a common Christianity there never has been and never can be a definition, for it has never existed."

Belloc goes on to state, "[t]here is no essential doctrine such that if we can agree upon it we can agree to differ about the rest: as for instance to accept immorality but deny the Trinity. A man will call himself a Christian though he denies the unity of the Christian Church; he will call himself a Christian though he denies the presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament; he will cheerfully call himself a Christian though he denies the Incarnation."

As Belloc states, the battle to retain our liberty is ultimately a battle which will be won or lost based upon our adherence to the truth which rests in the Church and not in some esoteric version of christianity. "No: the quarrel is between the Church and the anti-Church-the Church of God and the anti-God--the Church of Christ and the anti-Christ" Belloc.

"The truth is becoming every day so much more obvious that within a few years it will be universally admitted. I do not entitle the modern attack "anti-Christ" though in my heart I believe that to be the true term for it: No, I do not give it that name because it would seem for the moment exaggerated. But the name doesn't matter. Whether we call it "The Modern Attack" or "anti-Christ" it is all one; there is a clear issue now joined between the retention of Catholic morals, tradition, and authority on the one side, and the active effort to destroy them on the other. The modern attack will not tolerate us. It will attempt to destroy us. Nor can we tolerate it. We must attempt to destroy it as being the fully equipped and ardent enemy of the Truth by which men live. The duel is to the death."

Idaho: home of the Utah Lottery

For there must be also heresies: that they also, who are approved may be made manifest among you. [1 Cor 11:19]

"You seek me", St. Augustine comments, "for the flesh, not for the spirit. How many seek Jesus for no other purpose than that He may do them good in this present life! [...] Scarcely ever is Jesus sought for Jesus' sake" ("In Ioann. Evang.", 25, 10).

Man's whole salvation, which is in God, depends upon the knowledge of this (divinely revealed) truth. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part I, first question, first answer

This, and nothing else, is the purpose of the Church: the salvation of individual souls Benedict XVI – Sao Paolo, Brazil, May 11, 2007